Highlights of this tour

Venice Grand Tour

Venice Grand tour is designed to be a complete introduction to Venice in just four hours.

It will include St. Mark's Square and the interior of the Basilica (which cannot be done if there is "acqua alta," high water, or religious holidays), with an overview of all the celebrated monuments.

This part of the Venice Grand Tour allows our guides to provide you with a well articulated historic introduction to the city: its birth, peak, and decline throughout the years, spanning from the 9th through 19th centuries.

We will then board a private boat to cruise parts of the Grand Canal, still the main thoroughfare, to admire the homes of the rich and powerful in past and present Venice, each with their unique style and charm.

We will also navigate some of the narrow canals where public ferries are not allowed to go, sided by hidden gardens and picturesque residences, for a more intimate insight on Venice's residential areas.

Your guide will also stress the current problems with the preservation of this singular cultural heritage Venice is fortunate to have.

Venice GRand Tour continues up to the Northern Lagoon to visit the island of Murano, a major center of glassblowing for 800 years. On Mondays through Fridays you will see an actual production line at one of the top glass factories, while in the showrooms you will discover the amazing variety of colors and glass design.... and purchase an exquisite souvenir!

On the weekends we will be able to provide a shorter demonstration.

The return transfer from to Venice might be shared with others, for practical reasons. Later we will have enough time to explore the backstreets, where the Venetians live, to savor everyday life in an intricate maze of ancient narrow alleyways, lively squares with magnificent buildings, and meandering canals. Our tour concludes at the Rialto, the bustling "heart" of Venice.

More about this tour

300 years ago, wealthy young Englishmen began taking a post Oxbridge trek through France and Italy in search of art, culture, and the roots of Western civilization.

With nearly unlimited funds, aristocratic connections, and months (or years) to roam, they commissioned paintings, perfected their language skills, and mingled with the upper crust of the Continent. Gross, Matt, "Lessons from the Frugal Grand Tour" New York Times September 5th 2008.

It was a long trip through the cradle of Classical antiquity, which could last a couple fo years.

The funny thing was that Venice could not boast Roman ruins, in fact it came to be known as the capital of amusements!

Moreover, good part of its reputation was not based on the present reality, but on pre exsisting myths, dating back from the 15th and 16th century.

Venetian public institutions had been revered by illustrious scholars, who often in their works mentioned the Doge, the Senate and the Grand Council as epitomes of the perfect combination between aristocracy and democracy.

Venice was also the city of tolerance and free thinking, where foreign communities from all over lived together in peace under the public authority.

Another stereotype was the zest for life, that anyone could feel in social contexts, at the Rialto market, in St Mark's Square, as well as in private ones.

The large number of theatres, the love for music and poetry, the magnificence of the noble dwellings, suggested visitors so much joy and a cheerful mood.

However, liberty turned into licentiousness, and a character like Giacomo Casanova expressed perfectly the spirit of time.

Now the 21st century traveler probably still comes inspired by the same “quest” for art, culture, and roots, but, instead of months or years, has just a few days to learn, absorb, shop, and metabolize Italy as a whole.

With our help you can maximize your limited time in Venice, without rushing and without getting “trapped” in the few crowded streets around St Mark’s Square!

Venice is larger than what is often depicted, and the entire city is absolutely fascinating and deserving of discernment while you explore it